#Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

[heathersdesk]

How to Deal with the Family Proclamation

We had a lesson in Sunday School today on all six of the proclamations the Church has ever issued. So naturally, the Proclamation on the Family came up.

I have complicated feelings about it. I think it fails our queer membership and locks us into doctrinal positions that aren't scripturally supported. I don't like how every lesson that mentions it invites an open season to take pot shots at the queer community, at our own people, about sexuality and gender. I don't like that this is the first instinct of many of our people when they talk about it.

You want to know how to redirect the conversation that shuts it down every time?

I bring up the portion that talks about the rights of children not to be abused. No one ever wants to talk about that because it involves looking at our own mess instead of someone else's. And as a survivor of familial abuse, it's something I feel passionate about because I know there is no group that is immune to it.

Rather than enforcing a familiar standard of heterosexual nuclear family that everyone should aspire to, I think the proclamation does a much better job of outlining what every child deserves. All children deserve to grow up in a family where they feel safe, respected, and loved.

Whenever I have to talk about the Proclamation to the Family, this is what I say. This is the only way I've found it to truly be prophetic.

I did it again today and that was one of the most powerful and vulnerable conversations about abuse I've ever seen at church. I know the teacher well. He has been a lawyer for many years and has worked as a prosecutor for child abuse cases in the state of Idaho, including those that involved church members. He said outright that local leadership doesn't always get things right with this, to the point that it was one of the reasons he left that line of work. It instigated a really poignant moment with him and a retired social worker from LDS Family Services. The Church is not immune to failures in handling abuse, but the Proclamation on the Family calls us to be better. That's what the discussion turned into. That was the salient point we ended on before moving on to the most recent proclamation from 2020.

Discussions in church are malleable. You can shape them into what you want them to be instead through your participation. It takes courage and skill you can gain with practice. And you'd be amazed at how well people respond if you do it sincerely and with love.

I can't change the mind of every person in the Church about queer people. But I can be filled with so much love for them, the right thing to say and do will be given to me through the Spirit.

Never doubt that you also have this power and ability. With God, all things are possible—including this.

[sweetcardamom]

Lol (quite literally).

I think it might be an old phrase left over from the nineteenth century, or something, and it just stuck.

the ground is m o i s t and we are g r a t e f u l

[unapologeticallylds]

today i blessed desserts WITHOUT asking that the sugary very much not nourishing fold will nourish and strengthen us. speech 100 prayer 100

[nottskyler]

According to my LDS Temple Calendar, today is the 128th anniversary of when fasting occurred regularly on the first Sunday of the month. So happy first Sunday fast Sunday day!

[tastethebloodofmeatthawsmoth]

breakdown of Mormon mythology:

Everyone who has ever lived or will ever live began as the literal spirit children of heavenly parents - God the Father ("Heavenly Father" in Mormon parlance) and his wife or wives. The essential "intelligence" of these spirits, like matter, is uncreated and eternal, but the spirits are created by marital union between the heavenly parents. These spirit children were happy, but in order to advance to the next level of power and start families of their own, they had to pass through a probationary period in order to receive physical bodies.

In order to do this, a meeting was called in Heaven in order to plan out the world we currently live in. Two plans were presented for this new world, one by the pre-mortal Jesus, then known as Jehovah, the eldest of Heavenly Father's spirit children, and his brother, Lucifer. Lucifer suggested taking away humanity's freedom of choice and making himself the savior of this new world. Jesus suggested giving humanity "agency" (a major term in the Mormon lexicon), as on other worlds. The ensuing conflict caused a war to break out in Heaven, in which Lucifer convinced 1/3rd of the spirits destined for Earth to join him. Thus Lucifer became the devil, and his followers the demons, forever denied bodies of flesh and bone. Heavenly Father, alias Elohim, then created the world with the assistance of Jehovah and the archangel Michael, the pre-mortal Adam. Adam and Eve started the human race, as most of you know, and everyone who has ever lived since then was someone who made the choice to come to earth to receive a physical body and hopefully return to Heavenly Father, achieve the highest level of power, and eventually start their own universe after this probationary period. Mormons are a bit cagey about this, but Mormonism is a polytheistic religion - there are thousands, millions, maybe even billions of gods out there. Gods in Mormon mythology are sort of like dads. Dads are everywhere, you may eventually become a dad yourself, but you only have one. The cycle will continue forever. Mormons believe that Jesus was the first-born of God's spirit children, but also have their own gross take on the virgin birth. They believe God literally traveled to Earth and physically impregnated Mary; hence Jesus is referred to as "first begotten in the spirit and only begotten in the flesh." Mormon theology says that Jesus atoned for humanity's sins, not only on the cross, but in the garden of Gethsemane. After his death and resurrection, Jesus traveled to the Americas to preach to the American Indians, who Mormons believe are actually the descendants of ancient Israelites, and established his church in the Americas as he did in Palestine. Eventually all of the righteous, white Nephites were exterminated by the dark-skinned Lamanites, but not before they recorded their history on gold plates that were buried by the last living Nephite, Moroni, in what is today upstate New York. Many years later, Moroni, as an angel, visited the young prophet Joseph Smith and revealed the location of these plates, which would eventually become the Book of Mormon. And that's why we're here today. If any current or former Latter-day Saints, or anyone who simply knows more about this than me has any comments or corrections, I'd like to hear them. This is practice for me writing my book about Mormonism.

[gettingsoaked]

Mormonism 101

One of the reasons for this project is that Mormonism, through its global missionary program, shows like South Park and the Book of Mormon musical, and the music of Donny Osmond, is a very visible religion, yet at the same time its basic tenets, beliefs, and practices are almost totally unknown to anyone except initiates. Most people are aware of Mormons, but couldn't tell you much about the religion. So what is Mormonism? Let's start with terminology. While "Mormon" and "Mormonism" are well-established, people who are usually called Mormons are actually members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "Mormon" is a nickname or exonym drawn from the religion's principle scripture, the Book of Mormon. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the official name of what to most people is "the Mormon Church." The term "Mormon" is discouraged, as is the abbreviation LDS. Official Church sources stress that the full name should be used whenever possible, but suggest using the abbreviations, “Church of Jesus Christ” or “Christ’s Church,” which seem more to me like ambiguous theopolitical statements than useful short forms. Apologies to any LDS readers, but I'll be using "Mormon," "Latter-day Saint," and "LDS" more or less interchangeably.

Mormonism is a Christian restorationist denomination, which means that Mormons believe their religion is a restoration of primitive (in the sense of first or original) Christianity. Mormonism is a Christian religion to the extent that its central figure is Jesus Christ, but has several major differences from mainstream Christianity, which we'll get to in later posts. (I personally believe that Mormonism originates in Christianity, but is not Christian in the same way that Christianity originated from Judaism but isn't Jewish.) The Church was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr, who hailed from upstate New York and is regarded by believers as a prophet similar to the way Jews & Christians view Moses or Muslims view Muhammad. Smith had visions from the spirit world telling him to organize his own church, as all Christian creeds were an abomination in the eyes of God, and leading him to a new volume of scripture, the Book of Mormon, written by some of the indigenous inhabitants of the Americas on golden plates, and buried on the Hill Cumorah. Smith allegedly translated this record, the Book of Mormon, through the gift and power of God. The Bible, the Book of Mormon, a collection of Smith and other Latter-day prophets' revelations called the Doctrine and Covenants, and The Pearl of Great Price, consisting of some excerpts from Smith's revision of the Bible and other ephemera, constitute the open Latter-day Saint scriptural canon. After Smith's assassination, his successor Brigham Young led the Mormons to Utah, and eventually the religion grew to become a global faith. The Church is headed by a president that adherents consider a modern prophet, seer, and revelator, and they consider themselves the only true, authorized church on earth today. They have many distinctive teachings on the nature of God, the afterlife, health and diet, finances, and other matters that I plan to cover in future posts. (Any corrections are always welcome, but I think this is pretty accurate!)

[rabbitcruiser]

Five hundred Mormons left Iowa City for the Mormon Trail on June 9, 1856.

[mormonbooks]

Daughter of the Deep Review

Alright, it's been a little while since I finished this book but I'm finally writing the review.

4/5 stars!

This book is by Rick Riordan, and while he's not a member of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- so this book doesn't technically fit my "by mormons about mormons" criteria -- I wanted to include this book because it's one of the only pieces of mainstream media that has casual mormon rep that I've ever heard of.

Summary - Ana Dakaar's freshman finals trip gets turned into a life-death situation when Harding-Pencroft (the school she and her friends attend) is destroyed. The freshmen are the only ones left standing and they discover that there is more to their school than they originally thought -- Captain Nemo from 1000 Leagues Under the sea (also known as Prince Dakaar) was a real person, and their school was built to honor his memory and continue researching the incredibly advanced naval and marine technology that he had invented. Ana has to trust her friends Esther, Nelinha, and Gemini (as well as herself) while they try to win a war they never realized they were a part of.

Gemini Twain is the only Mormon character and he is great. Spoilers under the cut.

Well written - 5 Stars.

Listen, it's Rick Riordan. He's good at writing, what am I gonna say?

2. Fun Level - 5 Stars.

The story is just jam packed with fun and entertaining moments and ideas. The advanced technology is intriguing and silly at the same time, the characters are engaging and their relationships are fun! I had a great time jumping from suspenseful action moments, to heartfelt friendships, to tender introspection, and back to silly sci-fi. It's just a blast.

3. Complex Faith - 4 Stars.

Gemini's faith isn't explored very much, because he's not a POV character. That being said, he is one of the main characters that Ana interacts with, and we get hints that his relationship to his religion is complex. His parents are hippies, and he never knew them because he was raised by his grandmother. She is the one who introduced him and his brother to the church. His brother is on a mission, and Gemini is the only Mormon at HP. He's a really lonely kid. We don't get the sense that he's close with a faith community in the area. Although we don't know Gemini's personal relationship with God, his backstory makes him a unique enough Mormon character (basically, not a Peter Priesthood) that I think he warrants a high score in this regard.

4. Homophobia Scale - 4 Stars.

There is absolutely no romance in this book. I know people like the ship Ana and Gem and there is certainly room for that (and the difference in religion would be interesting to explore) but there is also room for all the characters to be ace, or literally whatever. So, while there are no gay characters, there are also no straight characters. Everyone is just ... trying not to die actually.

5. Mormon Weird - 1 star.

Because Gemini isn't a POV character, we don't get a lot of Mormon specific things. There is a moment where Gemini unthinkingly talks to a Nelinha (who is from Brazil) about his brother who is on a mission in Brazil, as if Nelinha would somehow know his brother even though Brazil is a huge place, which seems like a specifically Mormon Moment to me (in an affectionately, "Oh yikes, we do that don't we" way), but yeah. Not a lot of Mormon Weird included in this book.

6. Diversity of Characters - 5 stars!

Ana - Indian American, Hindu, multilingual (English, Irish, ASL, Bundeli, etc)

Nelinha - Brazilian, bilingual (English, Portuguese)

Esther - European American, Autistic (and written very well from my opinion), has an Emotional Support Dog

Gemini Twain - African-American, Mormon,

Plus lots of other characters who show up throughout the novel, all with their own backstories, ethnicities, and personalities. I love them all.

7. Other Problematic Stuff - 5 stars

Nothing to report. It was just great.

Conclusion - Please read this book!! It's just so much fun, the cast is so great, the world is fascinating, and the plot is engaging. I love Gemini Twain with all of my heart and I want everyone else to know and love him too. It's also just so refreshing to read a book that acknowledges our existence, and allows a Mormon to be one of the heroes in a sci-fi story, just like ... casually. I love him.

I said in my goodreads review that:  "I didn't necessarily see myself in Gem, but I saw all the boys I grew up with in Sunday School, the guys I served my mission with, and the men I met at BYU." He's a good one.

[bestseasonsoflife]

Christmas Lights at the Mormon Temple 2023-5 by Amaury Laporte

[thecagedsong]

Just had my Sunday School lesson for teenagers go off the rails in the best way possible.

The lesson was the entirety of the last supper. My plan was to frame the events before the Garden in a "what would you do with your 'last' day/this is what Christ did with his 'last' day"

We were reading through the hints Christ was giving to tell Judas that Christ knew what he was going to do and wasn't going to stop Judas, which incidentally set the apostles into a fit of self-reflection, when a boy asked.

"Why did Christ let Judas become an apostle then, even if they were planning on capturing Christ anyway, why let someone be so close if they were just going to betray him?"

I AM SO GLAD YOU ASKED!!!

They struggled for a bit. Maybe because he did more good as a follower than evil as a betrayer? Maybe to make the story more dramatic and memorable?

Then one kid said there wasn't a point to Judas' story except don't betray Christ because he didn't feel guilty. (Good kid, good parents that read scriptures and have gospel discussions with him and his sister, usually knows the stories better than the rest of class, pleasure to teach him something)

Another kid corrected him and said he felt so guilty he hung himself.

(Sister of the one kid with the good family was shocked and aghast, hadn't remembered that part)

I explained how Judas's story is recorded (running out of time to read). And I asked them what could Judas have done.

All my usual smartypants were stumped. He died, he tried to give back the silver, and wasn't he going to hell anyway, that's what the apostles made is sound like and what the Catholics teach.

I said, "That's not what Christ said, remember when we talked about Christ washing their feet, and how you need him? What did Christ say he should have done?"

Kids thinking it over

Then a kid that was quiet the whole class, only reading when called upon, said "Repent"

I could see them get it. The good kid actually said "Wait, the atonement covers even betraying Christ?" despite hearing about how the atonement covered everything his entire life.

Yes, even that. The whole lesson made me so happy. I hope these kids remember it, I sure will.

[onedayillbeasaint]

A new Easter message from President Nelson! ❤️🌿🌷🌸🌼✝️

ComeUntoChrist.org

[mindfulldsliving]

Apostolic Christianity Restored: How the LDS Church Revives Christ's Original Teachings

What if the Christianity practiced today wasn’t quite what Christ Himself established? For many, this idea sparks curiosity. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints answers this question by claiming to restore the original Apostolic Christianity, complete with Christ’s teachings, ordinances, and priesthood authority. Grounded in scripture and revelation, this restoration offers a…

[jolikmc-thoughts]

Today I Learned™

The founding members of The Aquabats! are Mormon.

Oh, and Mr. Jacobs' dad was kind of a big deal. So, that's neat.

[nottskyler]

I disagree with the belief that reproduction of divine beings will look anything like the unequal burden that exists here and now in our fallen world. From Mary conceiving the Savior by the power of Gd rather than sex to Adam being formed from the dust and Eve from a rib, there seems to be a precedent for creating life outside of cis-straight sex even in this fallen world. Yet somehow the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has decided to ignore all these evidences in the scriptures and hang new doctrines on the sandy foundation of a revelation that contradicts itself: Doctrine and Covenants 132.

(I acknowledge that I wrote a post about 132 being the law of polyamory, but the section I read to write this post was not the same section I read when I wrote that post. Whether that is because of the Mandela effect or I had my “JST” glasses on, I do not know.)

I want to start out with why I believe the unequal division of reproduction labor is a characteristic of the fall because it is better to start from a place of faith than disbelief. When we talk about the fall in Sunday School and list the characteristics of a fallen world, we usually end up with a list that looks like this: illness, death, disability, weeds, work to survive, and (if you have an enthusiastic feminist) painful pregnancy and childbirth. The purpose of the fallen world is given when we look at what these things all have in common.

When you are sick, someone else needs to do the work you normally do or the sickness will spread. When someone passes away, people need community to help support them in their grief. Disabled people need support to do some things while needing others to completely take over other tasks. Basically, all the effects of the fall are things that make us need to help and support each other. A world designed as a perfect test to see if we will help people who need it.

What happens when we fail these tests? When we abuse the possibility of death we get murder and war and genocide. When we ignore the consequences of sicknesses, we get pandemics. When we abuse the need for labor to survive, we get wealth inequality, slavery and racism, and dangerous working conditions. But abusing painful pregnancy and birth doesn’t seem to be all it takes to get sexism, rape, and sexual violence. Adding lust brings us closer, but I think the true root of sexism and sexual violence is the unequal division of reproductive labor because the benefit of making more humans without having to do the labor yourself is ripe for exploitation.

If you look at teachings of modern day prophets, you will find lots of teachings that allude to the fact that the way reproduction works on this earth is how it will work in the eternities. It is the teaching that is foundational to rejecting gay marriage and polyamory that isn’t polygamy. But when you look at the scriptures, you have section 132 and Abraham 3 who teach contradictory doctrines to each other. D&C 132:63 teaches “for they [multiple virgins] are given unto him to multiply and replenish the earth according to my commandment...and for their exaltation in the eternal worlds, that they may bear the souls of men” whereas Abraham 3:22 teaches of “intelligences that were organized before the world was;” which were the souls of humans before we were born on this earth. What do we do when scriptures contradict themselves?

Ten years ago, I likely would have told you to pray and listen to what the prophet has to say. Now I know that everything spoken by Christ or His servants can be tested so you can know for yourself whether it is true (John 7:17 and many other places); just remember that not every commandment has immediate consequences and sometimes have consequences that are a problem on an aggregate level (for example: pollution). When it comes to things we can’t know here and now for ourselves, we are best to look at the fruits to know the truth (3 Nephi 14:20 and Matthew 7:20).

It is very tempting to completely throw out D&C 132, seeing how the sealing power had been revealed before and likely has a written record elsewhere that could be put in its place (refer to section heading), especially with how many parts contradict scriptures. Jacob, in Jacob 2:23-24, condemns David and Solomon for practicing polygamy where D&C 132:38-39 extols them both for polygamy except for the murder of Uriah. Then verse 61 says “if any man espouse a virgin, and desire to espouse another, and the first give her consent” (D&C 132:61) while verse 52 commands Emma to accept polygamy, which is not consent in case you were never taught what consent it. Then, of course, D&C 132:63 where it claims polygamy is to bear souls of men in the eternal worlds whereas Jacob 2:30 states that polygamy is a temporary law when Gd needs to raise up a righteous seed.

But this is simply setting up the stage of contradictions, we can’t know truth without looking at its fruits. And honestly, there were terrible consequences in Joseph Smith’s time. Emma Smith is considered by many to have fallen away and some polygamist marriages were of dubious consent, but, other than that, wives of Church leaders were counseled on affairs of the Church, women performed what would be considered priesthood blessings today, girls passed the sacrament. While there wasn’t an office of prophetess like the wife of Isaiah had, women and men were more equal in the Church than they are today.

The full effects of oppression came later when it was not only followed but considered doctrine to build upon. I’m not a Church historian and so I can go into the specifics to how it got to be this way, but I can look at what has been built on this foundation and the consequences in our day: The belief that women are and will be the ones responsible for reproduction has created the idea that men and women are separate beings and have separate spheres of work and influence; that women are holier and more divine because they have part of their eternal powers now and their socialization to be kinder and more nurturing is part of their divine nature instead of a result of our cultures a societies that punish girls and women from deviating from this norm; that there are only two genders which are the presumed sexual ability from looking at their bodies at birth; that the ability to procreate is so holy that scientifically trying to alter the natural way it occurs is evil, except for when it is forcing intersex people to more closely fit into the only two genders; that Gd created some of His children unsuited for exaltation due to characteristics they cannot control and so if they choose to be lonely in this life they can be a ministering angel to others who were not born that way.

I hope everyone can reject that last statement as definitely not being of Gd and realize it the same idea that led to the Priesthood and Temple Ban for people of African descent. This similar belief is why I believe the Church hasn’t fully repented for the priesthood ban. Obviously there is a different faulty foundation than the role of men and woman in the eternities that supports the priesthood ban, but I am not writing about it today.

Back to the false foundation on the ideas of eternal polygamy, rejecting gay eternal marriage based on the idea that creation will look like it does here in the fallen world actually runs contrary to the command: “Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.” (Mosiah 4:9) Christ was born without being conceived by sex, Adam and Eve were created without sex, and John the Baptist taught “that Gd is able of these stones to raise children unto Abraham” (Matthew 3:9 or Luke 3:8) , and modern day science is also almost at the point where cis lesbians could conceive and have a child without a sperm donor (but with the help of a lab). Believing that the power of creation is more limited than our scientific ability in ten years feels more heretical than believing that women are not tools for men to use to achieve their exaltation.

As for the other false teachings, I have experienced how dehumanizing it is to be treated as holier but not equal, I have seen the issues my mother had from devoting her life to be obedient to being a stay-at-home mother instead of tempering her child care responsibilities with her own interests and ambitions, I had a visiting teacher who could not go a conversation without mentioning her fertility issues because she felt so unholy and broken for her inability to have children due to these teachings, I have experienced gender dysphoria and the joy from doing something leaders in the Church would consider desecrating my holy vessel, and I have listened to LGB people to learn how sexuality isn’t a choice and thus was able to accept my own bisexuality as an innate part of me instead of satan tempting me to do evil. And above all, my husband and I only conceived and had a child after my legal transition via iui and so we have experienced creating life without cis-straight sex. All things in my life point to the fact that our loving Heavenly Father did not make a plan where His children will be unequal for all eternity.

However, I am not a prophet and so I don’t know how the Lord wishes for the Church to repent and when that repentance will actually begin. What I do know is that the idea that creation will emulate the unequal reproductive burden in the eternities is false and that Gd has already told His current prophets and apostles “to treat homosexuals the same as heterosexuals” to begin the process of undoing this false doctrine. Gd weeps for His daughters’ exclusion and that He is running His Church at half-revelation capacity. He is with you as you suffer the effects of this false doctrine and He will not stand for His will to be ignored forever. But our time scales are significantly smaller than His, all I can do is hope this change comes in my lifetime and pray for patience until it does.

[tingstersidedish]

My Journey to Be One With Christ

Good morning, brothers & sisters. I have opted to forgo the usual introduction new ward members offer and dive right into my talk. I pray that as I do so, the Holy Ghost will be with us all, opening our hearts to hear the words that our Father in Heaven would have us hear.  I was excited when my husband said he received a text asking if we would be willing to speak in church. I had felt for a…

[gettingsoaked]

Articles of Faith, part 1

The Articles of Faith are a canonized statement of basic LDS theology written by their prophet, Joseph Smith, in a letter to a man named John Wentworth who had requested information about the Latter-day Saints for his newspaper, the Chicago Democrat. In this series, I will discuss each of them in turn.

Article of Faith #1 "We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost." This, on the surface, is an orthodox-looking statement of trinitarian theology. All Christians believe in one God in three persons - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. However, Mormons do not believe that there is one God in three divine Persons. Mormons believe that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are three separate and distinct personages or beings, united in will and purpose so closely that they might be considered one God, but are still three separate people.

God, the Eternal Father - Mormons believe that God the Father is the literal father of their spirits. Before this period of mortal probation, we all lived up in Heaven with God. Latter-day Saints refer to God, or Heavenly Father, by "the exalted name-title Elohim." "Elohim" literally means "gods," and is one of the Biblical names for deity. Joseph Smith taught that God was once a man and dwelt on an earth, but how and where this happened is unclear. In one of his revelations, Smith taught that God the Father has a body of flesh and bone as tangible as a mortal man's. and in His son, Jesus Christ - Mormons believe that Jesus Christ was the eldest of Elohim's spirit children. They also believe that Elohim physically impregnated the Virgin Mary in the same way that every other mother in impregnated. As such, the Latter-day Saints often refer to Jesus as God's "first begotten in the spirit and only begotten in the flesh." The Latter-day Saints believe that Jesus, in pre-mortality, is the Jehovah or YHWH of the Old Testament. He is the savior of this world, and paid for our sins not only on the cross, but in the garden of Gethsemane, where, according to Mormon scripture, he trembled with pain and bled from every pore. and in the Holy Ghost - the prophet Joseph Smith taught that God the Father and Jesus Christ have bodies of flesh and bone, but the Holy Ghost is a "personage of spirit," and as a personage of spirit is able to dwell within us. The Book of Mormon teaches that "by the Holy Ghost you may know the truth of all things," and Mormons believe that He is prompting and guiding them throughout their lives, mostly through quiet feelings and thoughts. All of these Persons in the Godhead are circumscribed by their physicality and while their influence is felt throughout the entire world, are capable of being in only one place at one time. As always, questions, comments, and critique are welcome!